


The Rose of Revenge

by hazelhackley



Series: Killer Princesses [1]
Category: Disney Princesses, Schneewittchen | Snow White (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Assassination, Gen, Murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-03
Updated: 2014-03-03
Packaged: 2018-01-14 11:52:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1265500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelhackley/pseuds/hazelhackley





	The Rose of Revenge

The queen of a kingdom, sewed by the open black ebony wooden window while it snowed. Looking up, she saw the snow and pricked a finger, the bright red blood drops falling into the snow. She thought to herself, “If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood in this frame.”  Months later, she became pregnant. The identical twins’ hair were white as snow, skin as black as ebony, and lips as red as blood. The Queen died during childbirth.

The young princesses, while as similar in looks as could be, were as opposite as could be. Snow-White, gentle and quiet, wanted nothing more than to marry and live a simple royal life. Rose-Red, loud and adventurous, wanted to live out her days in the forests farthest from the palace. 

A year later, the king took another wife. She was beautiful, but full of arrogance and pride. Each morning she would ask her magic mirror while looking at herself: “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who in this land is fairest of all?” 

To this, the mirror would always answer, “You, my queen, are fairest of all.” She would always be satisfied, for the mirror spoke nothing but the truth. 

As years went by, Rose-Red and Snow-White grew up, more beautiful with each passing day. During an outing, Rose-Red left the company of her sister and father. She had packed up her belongings early that morning onto her horse. With her family in the distance, Rose-Red turned the opposite way of the castle and rode until her horse could ride no more, the land was but a speck in the distance. This was just before the girls’ seventh birthday. Finding Snow-White gone, the king sent his best men out to find the young girl. She was nowhere to be found and had ventured into the most dangerous areas of the forest from what they could find of her. The kingdom mourned her death that evening. 

The next day, the queen asked the mirror: “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who in this land is fairest of all?” 

For once, the mirror changed its answer. “You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But Snow-White is a thousand times fairer than you.” The queen took fright, full of envy. From that day on, she could look at the young girl no longer with love but with hatred, until it became so great that she could not sleep.

She summoned a huntsman and said to him, “Take Snow-White out into the woods. I never want to see her again. Kill her. As proof that she is dead bring, her lungs and her liver back to me.” Like an honorable subject of the kingdom, the huntsman did as his Queen said. Ignoring the innocence of the young girl, he took out his hunting knife and stabbed her until she was dead. Treating the girl’s corpse like a boar’s, he carved out lungs and liver and brought them to the Queen. The cook salted and boiled them for the Queen’s dinner that evening.  

The next morning, the Queen asked the magic mirror: “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who in this land is fairest of all?”

The mirror, who could say nothing but the truth, replied: “You, my queen, are fairest of all.” P

Pleased, the Queen’s pride was full of joy for years, until Rose-Red was eighteen. She had grown in the forest among trappers, fighting for her supper. On Mid-Summer’s Eve, Rose-Red decided to return to the kingdom she had run from. In the marketplace, she discovered the maid who had served herself and her sister as children. Her face appeared as if she had seen a ghost. 

“Snow-White?” she asked the young woman. 

“Rose-Red. Greta?” she asked her childhood maid. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!”  

The old woman nodded, breathing out a sigh. “None of us had any idea you were even alive. And with your sister gone-“ 

“What’s happened to Snow?” she demanded. 

“The Queen had her killed.” 

“Thank you, Greta.” Rose-Red wheeled around on a boot heel towards the castle. 

“Be careful!” Greta tried to warn the girl. Trying to remember the secret alleyways in the palace - of which there were plenty - Rose-Red found the way into the kitchens, where she hid until sundown. The servants bustled about, preparing for the Banquet. Once it had begun, Rose-Red snuck about, finally finding her parents’ bedroom. Unlocked, she quietly turned the knob. In front of her was her step-mother’s magic mirror that she remembered so well. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, does the Queen deserve to live or be thrown off the palace wall?” 

The mirror, though devoted to the Queen, could not tell a lie. “My lady, it’s true, it’s true; but the Queen ought to die, the shrew.” 

“Thank you. Say nothing to the Queen.” Rose-Red found space behind the curtain, keeping her daggers sheathed until the time came, standing.  

Hours later, Rose-Red heard laughter from the hall. The Queen was being escorted out of the banquet, tired, by her personal maid. “Will you be alright on your own, my lady?” The door opened. 

“I’ll be perfectly all right until morning, I should think. Thank you. Go back and enjoy the banquet.” 

“Yes, your majesty. Thank you.” The maid turned around and closed the door behind her. The Queen sighed a breath of relief, glad to be rid of her social duties for the evening. Rose-Red stepped out from the curtain, drawing out a dagger. 

“Your majesty.” She greeted her step-mother. “How have you been? I’ve not been back to visit in some time. Or at all, come to think of it.” 

“You _died!_ What are you doing here?” Recognizing the young princess, she became frozen in place, unable to move. 

“Quite the contrary, Mother. I’d had enough of the palace life, even at seven and I did well enough on my own. I was watched after quite carefully, in fact. I thought I’d see how my dear Mother was, when I found out that you had my sister assassinated.” She told the woman, quite calmly. “Quite frankly, I find the way you’ve turned the people of the palace quite wrong. So I thought I would turn the handle. No pun intended.” Stepping towards the Queen, she stabbed her carefully in the middle of her gut, so as if to appear an attempt by herself. The Queen buckled over backwards, hands grasping the handle. “It seems that my disappearance had a chain reaction. I will be returning, and you will be leaving. This castle, as well as this life. Good night, your majesty.” 

Stepping over the body, Red-Rose left the castle to find a room in a nearby inn, full from the many celebrations of Mid-Summer’s Eve. She managed to find one and the next morning, approached the palace gates to find her father. Finding a servant, she inquired as to the king’s whereabouts. “Who may I say is searching for him?” 

“His daughter. Rose-Red. I’m back to stay.” 

In the coming weeks, the kingdom celebrated Rose-Red’s return and the evil Queen’s death - few mourned, save the king. Rose-Red was granted more freedom than most ladies of the court, she brought a number of changes. Living in the forests, she was allowed patrol when there was fear of invasion by neighboring fighting kingdoms. While a princess, they treated her with the rights of a prince. 


End file.
